Most CT Schools In Screen & Stay Plan, As COVID Cases Keep Rising

Trumbull CT

17 December, 2021

4:13 PM

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CONNECTICUT — As the state's coronavirus cases continue to rise, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that better than 80 percent of C0nnecticut's public school districts have adopted the "Screen and Stay" policy. Under the policy, not fully vaccinated PreK-12 students and staff can remain in school if they were masked and have not developed coronavirus symptoms if they came into close contact with a person with COVID-19. Click here to view more information about the policy. According to Lamont, 162 Connecticut public school districts, or 81.4 percent, are participating in the initiative, while 28 districts are not. Another nine districts have not decided. Click here to view a survey of the districts. "Screen and Stay is one of the critical tools in our toolbox to keep schools open, and most importantly, keep our students in school," Lamont said in a statement. "Some of the most important moments for children are those that are spent in the classroom, learning both social and educational skills among their peers and with their teachers. We want to maximize the amount of time spent in school, while minimizing disruption, and keeping our students, staff, and administrators safe." More than 2,400 Connecticut PreK-12 students (2,483) have coronavirus, and 400 school staff members also have the virus, as of Thursday, according to state health officials. While participation in the K-12 effort is strong, overall, Connecticut's coronavirus cases keep rising. Cases rose by another 1,443 as of Friday, and the positivity rate is 6.78 percent, still above the 5 percent threshold that the state wants to be under. A day after a slight drop in hospitalizations, they rose again Friday to 736, an amount the state has not seen since February. Of the 736 in the hospital with the virus, 563, or 76.5 percent are not fully vaccinated. As reported Thursday, the number of people in Connecticut who have died from the coronavirus is 9,002. For a town-by-town breakdown of new COVID-19 cases in Connecticut, see the Connecticut Data Portal.